Grandma's Strawberry Pie is delicious, but SOUPY!

[The Hypnotoad]

To start with, my wife's grandma passed away recently and we discovered a lot of her long lost recipes. One of the recipes is for a family favorite, Strawberry Pie. We have tried several times to make this pie, but the same thing always happens, it turns soupy!

The recipe says crush 1 pint of strawberries, add 3.5 tablespoons corn starch, 1.25 cups sugar, and 1 tablespoon water. Then, cook until clear and thick. Cool slightly and pour over 2 pints of strawberries in the crust (I have been cutting the strawberries into smaller pieces, if that helps).

Someone told me to cook the strawberry mixture longer, so I did that and it turned out slightly better. I was also told to use more corn starch, so I used 5 tablespoons and it turned out a little better, but still very soupy.

Is there something that I'm not doing correctly? Or how about some tips on how I can make it better.

Thank you very much in advance for any thoughts.

Dan

 

[Zhizara]

I'm no baker, but it seems to me that cutting the strawberries in the crust, would release too much of their juices.

 

[The Hypnotoad]

I was wondering that too, and that's why I included the info.

 

[Zhizara]

I've made strawberry shortcake (Bisquick), and the preparation of the strawberries is to slice them and add sugar then let them mascerate in the fridge. The bowl always ends up with lots of liquid although no liquid was added. That's why I think that may be your problem.
I'd try leaving the ones in the pie whole next time you make it.

 

[Barbara L]

The advice given is good. My mom always used tapioca instead of corn starch for her fruit pies, and it worked great as well.

 

[The Hypnotoad]

Thanks for the advice! The pie finally turned out right. I didn't cut up the strawberries and used more corn starch. My father in law said it turned out just like his mom's, except he thinks that she cut the strawberries into smaller pieces.

Another thing I did was clean the strawberries the night before, and they dried over night. I don't know if that helped, but the other times I cleaned them right before and used them wet.

 

[Kayelle]

Cornstarch that's too old looses much of it's thickening qualities. That could be part of the problem, so buy a new box. It's wonderful to try and duplicate our ancestors treasured recipes....keep trying and welcome to Discuss Cooking.

 

[The Hypnotoad]

The corn starch is about a month old, how long does it last?

 

[Barbara L]

The corn starch is about a month old, how long does it last?

It lasts awhile if stored properly (not sure exactly how long). A month is definitely not old.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Strawb sauce, I would cook everything without adding the cornstarch till the sugar has melted . I would then add the c/s heat till clear,cool till its still just pourable.

 

[The Hypnotoad]

I know it's been a year since I asked this question, but thank you to everyone for the help.

I ended up using whole strawberries and adding the cornstarch after the sugar is melted.